Phrases.com »

Phrases related to: at first blush Page #2

Yee yee! We've found 210 phrases and idioms matching at first blush.

Sort:RelevancyA - Z
on a first-name basisHaving enough familiarity with another person to call them by their first name, as opposed to their surnameRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
pinch and a punch for the first of the monthSaid the first day of a new month, accompanied by a pinch and a punch to the victim.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
play first fiddleTo play a leading role.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
shoot first and ask questions laterTo take action with serious consequences without delay, preserving the benefit of surprise by not providing indication of one's intent.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
shoot first and ask questions laterTo act boldly.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
vectigalia exercere (vid. sect. V. 7, note The first...)to collect the taxes.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
what was your first clueA riposte to someone who has just stated an obvious conclusion.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
which do you want first, the good news or the bad news?An expression stated before having to share bad news (sometimes there is no good news)Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
women and children firstAn exhortation to follow the principle of removing women and children from danger before men.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
beat the rushto get somewhere first, or before a lot of other people -- such as going somewhere early in the morning.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
BODMASBrackets, order, division, multiplication, addition, subtraction; a mnemonic for arithmetic order of precedence, with the highest precedence first.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
did i stutter?Something said to a person who asks again and again, “what did you say?” Or someone who won’t hear you when you said “no” or “leave me alone” the first time and keeps annoyingly asking for your input.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
fee fi fo fumFamous first line of a rhyme generally said by a giant, monster, or villainRate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
flutter in the dovecoteI further argued that the principal cause for the political deadlock that persisted for thirty years after the guns fell silent was Israeli intransigence rather than Arab intransigence. The appearance of the first wave of revisionist studies excited a great deal of interest and controversy in the media and more than a flutter in the academic dovecote. — Israel Confronts Its Past.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
get your feet wetDoing something for the first time, first experience of somethingRate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
in the leadin first position in a competitionRate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
incunabula doctrinaethe origin, first beginnings of learning.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
maiden voyageThe first journey made by a ship or spacecraftRate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
People Who Live in the Glass House Shouldn't Throw StonesYou should not point fingers at other and first look at yourselfRate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
porn star namea comical name for a person, typically made from the name of their first pet and the name of the first street they lived on.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
stay wokeFirst used by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter in a 1938 interview afterword of his song Scottsboro Boys-named for nine Black teenagers and young men falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931. Lead Belly knew the Scottsboro boys, and urged Black listeners and Black persons traveling through that area in Alabama to "Stay Woke" (be vigilant, cautious, and alert) in the spoken afterword to the song. Lead Belly's direct relative, Global Activist and Equality Advocate Greshun De Bouse began the #STAYWOKELEADBELLY movement to acknowledge the phrase's origin, and redefine its present-day meaning as a more generalized, all-inclusive phrase admonishing all to be cognizant of past, present, and future world occurrences.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
take the leadTo become the leader, to advance into first place.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
you've got to be in it to win itIn order to win, or succeed at something, one must first compete or try.Rate it:

(5.00 / 2 votes)
crack of dawnThe first moment of daylight; sunrise.Rate it:

(4.50 / 2 votes)
come aroundTo change one's mind, especially to begin to agree or appreciate what one was reluctant to accept at first.Rate it:

(4.33 / 3 votes)
a pull of the hair for being unfairThe general response to "A kick and a flick for being so quick", which is in turn a response in itself to "A pinch and a punch for the first day of the month".Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go downAn otherwise unpleasant situation can be pleasant when a pleasant aspect is deliberately introduced.1999, Eli Yassif, The Hebrew Folktale: History, Genre, Meaning, Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253335833, page 372,One is known as the "sweetening parable," that is to say a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Thus, when the aim is to preach to the people, to guide them along the "bitter," arduous path of upholding burdensome precepts and prohibitions, a tale can lighten the load, make the "medicine" easier "to swallow."2001, Maureen Reagan, First Father, First Daughter: A Memoir, Little, Brown, ISBN 0316736368, page 319,It put some fun into the tedious business of preparing for a presidential debate. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, right?2004, John Hoover, How to Work for an Idiot: Survive & Thrive... Without Killing Your Boss, Career Press, ISBN 1564147045, page 11,If a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, a barrel of laughs can wash down the big pills you might need to swallow.Rate it:

(4.00 / 5 votes)
around the hornA difficult or precarious route that is less advisable than a simpler alternative; also, in baseball, throwing the ball from third base to second to firstRate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
cast onTo start the first row of knitting by putting stitches on a needle.Rate it:

(4.00 / 4 votes)
do the best and live the restFirst do your work with your 100% dont think about the resultRate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
go redTo blush.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
holy shitExpression of terror, awe, surprise, shock, etc., often at something seen for the first time or remembered immediately before using this term.Rate it:

(4.00 / 4 votes)
kick offTo make the first kick in a game or part of a game.Rate it:

(4.00 / 4 votes)
number oneFirst; foremost; best.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
tee offTo hit the first shot of the hole.Rate it:

(4.00 / 2 votes)
middle for diddleThe throw of a dart to decide who has first throw in a game darts: nearest the bullseye has first throw.Rate it:

(3.67 / 3 votes)
fade inA type of transition used in visual media, in which the transition is at first black, fading to a visual image.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
green handAn inexperienced crew member of a 19th-century whaler on his first voyage.Rate it:

(3.33 / 3 votes)
one small step for man, one giant leap for mankindWords spoken by Neil Armstrong when taking the first steps on the moon.Rate it:

(3.25 / 4 votes)
a whopper-dooperPrize Winning, Top Banana, First Rate, First Class, Winner, Great, Glorious, Grand, Super Duper. Superlative.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
baptism of fireThe first experience of a severe ordeal, especially a first experience of military combatRate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
BEDMASBrackets, exponents, division, multiplication, addition, subtraction; a mnemonic for arithmetic order of precedence, with B first and AS last.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
cut a rugTo dance, especially in a vigorous manner and in one of the dance styles of the first half of the twentieth century.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
golden duckThe score of zero runs after getting out on the first ball faced.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
red face testA hypothetical test of a person's embarrassment, that is either passed or failed. Saying one passes the red face test means one would not blush and thus would not be embarrassed by disclosing something to others or doing something, and saying one fails the red face test means a situation would cause them discernible embarrassment.Rate it:

(3.00 / 4 votes)
second stringIn sports, a unit of players that plays behind the first string.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
holy fuckExpression of terror, awe, surprise, shock, etc., often at something seen for the first time or remembered immediately before using this term.Rate it:

(2.50 / 4 votes)
at the end of the dayA colloquial expression of the twentieth/twenty first century referring as to a summary of events, degree of financial or business success, reference as to having a nice day, achieving preset goals, positive results.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
break one's duckTo score one's first run in an innings.Rate it:

(2.00 / 2 votes)
de prime abordAt first sight; At the first blush.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)

We need you!

Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

Alternative searches for at first blush:

Quiz

Are you a phrases master?

»
_____ the bucket.
A whack
B smack
C kick
D punch

Browse Phrases.com